Halden is a fairly small town in the Southeastern corner of Norway, just a stone’s throw from the border with Sweden. Of course it used to have its own brewery, which was gobbled up by bigger rivals many years ago. I suspect most of the beer consumed in the area is bought in Sweden, but that has not stopped Joachim Grandahl from establishing a brewpub in the old jail in centre of town.

It’s not just a brewpub playing it safe with a blonde and a brown ale, either, there were seven beers on tap brewed on the premises when I visited, in addition to a few guest taps with brews from other Norwegian micros.

It’s been a tough job getting things up and running – both the paperwork and practical issues.

The beer is brewed on a 500 liter Speidel.

Even if the beers are only sold at the brewpub, it is a struggle to keep up with demand.

I am happy to say that it is a very charming place to visit in the early evening, and the beers have a high standard. Very high, considering how new the place is.

No sampler glasses as yet, but they are under consideration.

The general rule of visiting in the early evening applies here. You have the opportunity to sample the beers at your leisure – and the acoustics in this old vaulted cellar means it can get a bit noisy, particularly at weekends.

Two hours by train from Oslo, about the same from Gothenburg, if that is a more convenient starting point.

At the most scenic spot you can imagine, in the middel of the Trondheim fjord, with green meadows and monastery ruins, you find Klostergården Håndbryggeri. Besides farming and brewing, there is also a café, a shop with local food, including beer, and some rooms for rent.

Brewer Jørn Andersen offers a broad range of beers. The ones below 4.7 % ABV are available in the shop, the stronger beers have to be consumed on the premises.

This region has a long tradition of farmers brewing their own beers, malting barley grown on their own farm, smoking the malt to give a unique flavour. Klostergården brews their won version of this, adding 25% of this smoked malt in the Sorn beer. The result is, of course, a compromise – you do not get an over the top smoked beer, but a balanced, quite sweet brew with lots of character with plenty of smoke and soot both in aroma and palate.

Klostergården is approximately a one hour drive from the main North-South road between Trondheim and Northern Norway. It is well worth the time, and the accommodation is reasonably priced if you want to indulge in the stronger beers. Expanded capacity will hopefully give at least a regional distribution for the beers. And if you want something truly exotic, their first batch of whisky is maturing in oak barrels, due to be released in April 2016.

Café Ni Muser shares a house with an art gallery, and is situated in an old wooden house close to the landmark Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. The café has the usual selection of ciabattas, cakes and coffee drinks as well as a hand picked list of beers.

Among these beers is the Ni Muser IPA, brewed on the premises and bottle conditioned. A pleasant and well balanced beer, well wort seeking out if you are in town. Brewed in very small batches, so they tend to run out at times.

The Norwegian daily Dagsavisen reports that the major Norwegian breweries see a dramatic fall in their turnover. In January and February this year they sold three milllion liters less than the same period last year, and the trend continues in March.

Spokesmen for the industry are praying for a hot summer, and mention several factos affecting thir sales:

Consumers are switching to cheaper, supermarket label beers

They travel less and eat less in restaurants

The opening hours for bars and nightclubs have been restricted in a number of towns.

Young people (what the industry calls first time drinkers) tend to go for wine and sweet drinks.

I don’t have any figures for the most important micros, Haandbryggeriet and Nøgne ø. They export most of their production, and I suppose they are more vulnerable to what happens in Denmark rather than at home.